Ideas ripen, just like fruit, and technology builds upon itself. Once humans had mastered the manufacture and casting of glass, it was only a matter of time before we noticed how light is refracted through thicknesses of it, and the prism was born. One of the earliest uses of the prism was nautical: old sailing ships (and classic sailing boats today) would have a flat-topped prism mounted in the deck surface to redirect sunlight into the hold without letting in sea-spray as well.
Enter, eventually, the ubiquitous plastic two-liter soda bottle. Emptied and crushed it's only so much more mass to be recycled (hopefully), or more likely to be sent to the landfill or the incinerator. But refilled with water and capped with a UV-resistant plastic top...?
Ideas cross-pollinate, and people who live in dark, tin-roofed buildings in Brazil get a cheap and highly effective method of lighting their homes and businesses during the day.
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